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August 2010

Karin — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 21:11:31 +0000

Just a short blog for this month as it is a quiet month, work-wise and I have some annual leave to finish off the academic year. Having done a good bit of travelling already in recent months, I am using my time off to spend some time at home, do some decorating and be with my family. I am also planning to tidy my office, both the office on campus and the office at home, ready for a fresh start for the new academic year in September.

July 2010

Karin — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 12:21:53 +0000

July started with a few days well earned rest; following the ICED 2010 conference in Barcelona, I stayed on in Spain, but went down to the coast to a lovely fishing village called L’Escala – good weather, good food, good scenery, good company, just excellent! Back at work and July was partially filled with teaching and tutorials on the taught doctoral programme’s summer study schools. I also presented in two sessions at the HECU5 conference in Lancaster (see ‘Conference’ page of this website for details and photographs). Finally the month ended with our Social Work award board, always a really satifying culmination of a year of everyone’s hard work; students, tutors and support staff – great to see so many students progressing really well and others graduating having achieved so much, professionally and personally, over the period of their studies.

May 2010

Karin — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 20:26:47 +0000

According to the American photographer, Edwin Way Teale, ‘The world’s favorite season is the spring’ and ‘all things seem possible in May’ – and certainly for me, I have achieved many things over the last month. I had a heavy workload of marking to do, alongside teaching and some external examining work to get through – everything has been completed, a good feeling. I also seem to have participated in more than my fair share of lengthy meetings over the last month! The book writing is continuing at a pace now, with the first full draft of the whole manuscript nearing completion – another good feeling This month I also enjoyed a very productive short visit to County Mayo in Ireland where I am part of a team undertaking an evaluative research study; this was an initial introductory visit, meeting key people and getting a feel for the context of the work to come. Finally, as the month closed, I had a short break from work, and spent a long weekend visiting Glasgow, the Trossachs, Loch Lomond and surrounding areas – such beautiful scenery. So to finish off this entry, here is a stunning picture of Loch Lomond in the sunshine … bliss!

April 2010

Karin — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 18:33:25 +0000

I am writing this right at the end of the month – I seem to have packed lots into the last few weeks as ever. I have been to London twice, once for a conference launching the final report of the Learning Landscapes research project, which has been an exciting research study looking at the ways in which academics work with colleagues in estates and other key stakeholders to develop and manage innovation in the design of teaching and learning spaces in Higher Education; the study has been led by colleagues at Lincoln and I have done a small part to support the work (i am even credited in the final report, which is nice). The second visit to London was for a meeting of the SEDA Scholarship, Research and Evaluation Committee. I did have a few days annual leave over the Easter period, which offered a welcome break. We didn’t go away, but enjoyed some day trips in beautiful sunshine. The book chapters continue to progress, and as I write this I am steeped in marking, which will keep me busy for some days yet!

August 2009

Karin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:05:21 +0000

I am writing this blog part-way through August, which, thus far has been a quiet and peaceful month. From the end of July until early August, I was away on a cycling holiday, cycling from Germany to Austria, some 160 miles over six cycling days. No computers, no phone, no television, just sunshine, stunning views, excellent food, and the best company – brilliant!

Despite having some more annual leave days once back at home, I spent some time planning the book writing for next term, keeping up with work emails, updating these web pages; none of these thing are a chore…

At the end of the month we have a long weekend in Edinburgh for the Edinburgh tattoo which should be excellent, if the weather is favourable.

Back to the more serious work next month…watch this space!

July 2009

Karin — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 10:24:43 +0000

It seems incredible that we are into summer already, the weather has been very changeable although I have found it consistently very warm even on the wettest days. July is an important month in the teaching and learning calendar of the professional programmes that I work on, as this is subject and exam board time. These are significant ‘milestones’ in terms of the development of my pedagogical work, but much more importantly these formal processes mark key progression points for individual students. This month, as always, the time immediately before the boards is characterized by frantic last-minute marking, checking and re-checking, so that the board meetings themselves are professional, accurate and can smoothly function to do the intended job. After the boards, I received some emails from successful students thanking me for my support; whilst not at all necessary, after all it is their hard work that enables them to succeed, their appreciation nonetheless is heartwarming.

A potentially significant ‘milestone’ for my own career development came about this month when the Dean of Faculty offered me the role of ‘Director of Teaching and Learning’ for the Faculty, which is the largest in the institution. Whilst not a promotion, or a post in itself, this is a considerable responsibility that encompasses much of the strategic work I already do, but formalizes and recognizes it within the Faculty management structure. I officially start the role next month, but effectively it will commence with the new academic year in September.

In the middle of the month I enjoyed three-days ‘out’ at the national, annual Joint Social Work Education conference (JSWEC) at the University of Hertfordshire. I participated in the conference as part of a group of colleagues and students; we all travelled together in a mini-bus-type vehicle that I drove (a real charabanc!) – see photo of the ‘mottly crew’ at the conference dinner, below. I gave one joint presentation on behalf of a colleague who was unable to attend, and also put up a poster presentation on the SCOTs project. The conference was excellent, well-organised and very informative. I really enjoyed meeting lots of colleagues ‘old’ and new, some of whom I hadn’t seen for some years, so a fabulous networking opportunity.

Finally, as I write this at the end of July, I am about to go on annual leave, starting with a holiday in Germany and Austria. Over the next two weeks, we will be cycling along the River Danube tow-path from Germany into Austria, from Passau to Vienna. Photographs to follow next month!